Saving Seafood

Another bumper year coming for seafood M&A after 2019 spend rockets past $5bn

January 15, 2020 — With deals for two massive US seafood firms set to close early this year, there’s a good chance that 2020 will be another bumper year for seafood mergers and acquisitions (M&A), after 2019 saw a surge in both deal values and quantities.

A total of $5.16 billion was spent on seafood mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2019, over $1bn more than 2018 ($3.86bn), according to data compiled by Undercurrent News from transactions where the sale value was revealed or could be estimated.

Last year has therefore replaced 2018 as the second-most lucrative year for seafood deals on record, behind only the $5.83bn spent in 2015, driven by the sales of aquafeed giants EWOS Group and Nutreco.

Had the sales of US megafirms American Seafoods Group (ASG) and Bumble Bee Foods been closed before the end of December, last year may even have beaten 2015’s record. ASG is reputedly valued upwards of $1.5bn, and possesses a pollock quota holding of 250,000 metric tons.

As of Nov. 12, 2019, a pollock consortium — comprised of Aleutian Spray Fisheries, Arctic Storm Management Group, Glacier Fish Company and Trident Seafoods — is the frontrunner for ASG’s business, but there still remains a possibility that Bregal Partners, the largest shareholder in the firm, chooses not to sell its stake.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

New fish farm near Miami aims to grow major portion of U.S. salmon supply

January 13, 2020 — A new land-based salmon farm, described by industry groups as among the world’s largest, is raising millions of the healthy popular fish in giant warehouses about 30 miles southwest of Miami.

The subtropical location for the farmed salmon, which love cold northern waters, is unique in the world. The company, Atlantic Sapphire, pulls cold water from underground and keeps it at 59 degrees Fahrenheit in what it calls a bluehouse — a greenhouse for fish.

Norwegian entrepreneur Johan Andreassen built the farm in Homestead, Fla., over the past two years, relying on a steady supply of fresh and salt water from underground aquifers, he said. That’s because salmon in the wild lay eggs in freshwater rivers, and the young fish swim to salt water to grow.

Ultimately, the company wants to supply a sizable portion of the U.S. salmon market at a time when more Americans are turning to healthy fish in their diets.

Read the full story at UPI

MAINE: Aquaculture census shows sales are up

January 9, 2020 — It should come as no surprise to anyone who follows Maine’s fisheries that the state’s aquaculture industry is growing in value and number of producers.

The U.S, Department of Agriculture 2018 Census of Aquaculture, released shortly before Christmas, paints a slightly different picture of the industry on a national basis.

According to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service report, in 2018 sales of U.S.-grown aquaculture products totaled $1.5 billion, an increase of 10.5 percent over 2013, the last year for which a comprehensive census was compiled. Though sales were up, the number of producers was down.

In 2018, there were 2,932 aquaculture farms with sales in the United States, down 5 percent from 2013. Five states — Mississippi, Washington, Louisiana, Virginia, and California — accounted for 51 percent of the sales and 37 percent of the farms.

“The 2018 Census of Aquaculture updates important information about the industry that we last produced in 2013,” said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer. “These valuable data tell the story of U.S. aquaculture, following and expanding on the Census of Agriculture. The information in the report helps trade associations, governments, agribusinesses and others learn about aquaculture and make informed decisions that have a direct impact on the future of the industry.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Appeals court hears arguments on NOAA’s authority to regulate aquaculture

January 9, 2020 — The fight over whether offshore aquaculture should be allowed in US federal waters and which agency should regulate it is back in court with lawyers for a group of fishing and food safety interests arguing that new legislation is needed for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to regulate it.

In September 2018, US district court judge Jane Triche Milazzo, in the Eastern District of Louisiana, granted a motion by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and a coalition of fishing and public interest groups it represented to grant a summary judgment in its lawsuit against NOAA’s National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) to block its efforts to establish aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico.

CFS had successfully argued that the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), which gives NOAA and NMFS much of their legal authority, gave the agencies authority over only wild-capture fisheries, not aquaculture.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Future of Fish Farming in Federal Waters at Issue in Court

January 6, 2020 — The potential environmental and economic consequences posed by proposals for fish farming in federal waters dictate that Congress — not a federal agency — must decide how to regulate the industry, an attorney told a federal appeals court Monday.

At issue before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was a September 2018 ruling by a federal judge who threw out National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s rules for fish farms in the Gulf of Mexico, saying Congress never gave the agency authority to make them.

An attorney for groups representing commercial and recreational fishing interests, food safety advocates and conservationists urged the three-judge appellate panel to uphold the 2018 ruling. Those groups cite numerous worries about the effect of fish farming on market prices for wild-caught fish and the effects on fishing communities, the environmental consequences of the use of antibiotics to control disease, the unpredictable genetic effects on wild, native fish stocks if farmed fish escape from farm pens and other concerns.

NOAA maintains that fish farming, including that on the open sea, is vital to future seafood production and can help provide year-round jobs while rebuilding protected species and habitats.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the U.S. News

MAINE: Aquaculture group launches video campaign

January 6, 2020 — As in many segments of American life, social media is playing a role in rising tensions between Maine’s most traditional fishery and the state’s growing aquaculture industry.

In recent months, a group called “Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage” has been active on Facebook, Instagram and other social media. The group identifies itself as an “organization of lobstermen, fishermen, and other citizens concerned about the rapid growth of aquaculture” in Maine.

Over the past few weeks, the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA) has posted a pair of professionally produced videos on Facebook aimed at showing Maine fish farmers in a positive light. The first approximately three-minute video features Canadian salmon farming giant Cooke Aquaculture. The second focuses on the husband and wife team of Josh and Shey Conover, who operate their small Marshall Cove Mussel Farm off Islesboro in Penobscot Bay.

The two videos are the initial offerings in a planned series called “The Faces of Maine’s Working Waterfront.”

According to the MAA, the videos “tell the stories of aquatic farmers in Maine, underscoring how aquaculture complements existing marine industries and works to diversify and strengthen our coastal economy.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Fish food: Feed, fishmeal sectors saw innovation, volatility in 2019

January 6, 2020 — Aquafeed and its components may not always be the highest-profile segment of the seafood industry, but given that feed is typically farmers’ biggest expense, it’s usually a top concern.

Aquaculture’s growth is spurring concerns about the use of forage fish to produce fishmeal and fish oil and encouraging the development of alternative ingredients rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. This drove rapid innovation in the feed sector in 2019 as entrepreneurs and established players sought to cash in on the sector’s promise.

Undercurrent News was the first to report on many of these developments, which you can review in our recap below:

January

The fishmeal markets began 2019 on a bearish note as global supplies got a boost amid strong anchovy landings in Peru even though fishmeal stockpiles in China saw lower demand due to an outbreak of African swine fever. Sources told Undercurrent that Peruvian superprime fishmeal prices, ex-warehouse, Shanghai, China, averaged CNY 10,700 per metric ton ($1,566/t) in January, down CNY 1,200/t from mid-October 2018

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Chris Schillaci Joins Greater Atlantic Region’s Aquaculture Program

January 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In December, Chris Schillaci joined the Greater Atlantic Region’s aquaculture program, bringing ten years of experience to his new role. We asked Chris a few questions as he was settling in.

What do you do in your new position as Regional Aquaculture Coordinator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office?

I work with federal and state agencies, industry, and members of the scientific, academic, and NGO communities on a variety of marine aquaculture issues. Our goal is to further the development of a sustainable aquaculture industry in the Greater Atlantic Region and beyond. I join Kevin Madley in our regional office, expanding our capacity in this area.

What are you most looking forward to in your new job?

I am a problem solver. I really enjoy working in a collaborative manner with stakeholders from across sectors to come up with practical solutions to challenging problems. That kind of collaboration and coordination is really what this job is all about.

What do you think will be the biggest challenge?

The waters where marine aquaculture occurs are some of the most ecologically, culturally, and economically important shared spaces in our country. There is a high density of protected species, sensitive areas, and other user groups. This means we have an obligation to consider all of NOAA’s protection objectives and the various stakeholder viewpoints when developing strategies to foster growth in the aquaculture sector. This is critical for the long term sustainability of the industry. The good news is that through careful siting and management of aquaculture operations, we can minimize user conflict and provide sustainable economic opportunities. We can also improve water quality and bolster ecosystem services that enhance opportunities in other marine sectors.

Find out more about Chris on our website.

$110M fish farm would mean changes for Jonesport, but locals hope not too many

December 31, 2019 — Big changes could be in store for a quiet, lobster-fishing community in Washington County if a European firm ends up building a $110 million land-based fish farm on a largely undeveloped property overlooking Chandler Bay.

But Jonesport and its companion town of Beals, connected by a 1,000-foot arched concrete bridge over Moosabec Reach, already have been experiencing major changes in recent decades that have been more subtle, more gradual and less welcome. The towns have grappled with lackluster development, declining populations and school enrollments, and the effects of the opioid addiction crisis that has hit Washington County especially hard and led the FBI to Jonesport and Beals this past spring to raid three suspected drug houses in the community, as well as others in the county.

Nobody expects a major employer moving into town to solve all the challenges the towns face, even if the yellowtail aquaculture company Kingfish Zeeland does what CEO Ohad Maiman says it plans to do — hire 70 people up front, establish a job-training program with the local high school and Maine colleges, and possibly expand production later. But local officials and residents say the development could help boost and diversify the area’s economic prospects without sacrificing the rural, hard-working character of what has been a fishing town for more than 200 years.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

‘Frankenfish’ Salmon Can Be Overseen by FDA Despite Concerns

December 23, 2019 — The Food and Drug Administration can regulate salmon that’s genetically engineered to grow faster, according to a decision in a California federal court case over concerns about so-called frankenfish.

Fishing, consumer, and environmental groups that challenged the FDA’s approval of such salmon from AquaBounty Technologies Inc. failed to convince the court that the agency lacks authority to regulate the fish. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Dec. 19 sided with the FDA, leaving to a later date a decision on whether the regulator failed to consider potential risks.

AquaBounty won the FDA’s first greenlight for changing the genetic makeup of an animal destined for the dinner table. The case could have implications for similar modifications in the works for fish like tilapia and trout or other animals down the line, according to the Center for Food Safety, one of the groups that sued.

“That’s why we were so concerned about this approval,” said Amy van Saun, a senior attorney at the center. “We want to make sure people and the environment are protected.”

Genetically engineered salmon are meant as an alternative to endangered wild salmon. AquaBounty plans to harvest its salmon starting in late 2020.

Read the full story at Bloomberg Law